Open Sorcery: Jingle BEL/S

This game takes the structure of the first Open Sorcery and fits into a Christmas theme.

Like the first game, you are a sentient fire spirit that is also part computer program. It follows the 'canon' ending of the first game where you save everyone. In this game you find spirits by identifying their 'matter' and 'motive'. There are a lot more nice spirits in this game (although I did find out that I murdered a potential nice pet in the first game. Oops!)

The biggest new addition is that each dream is its own playable game with a variety of puzzles. They can be pretty hard, but you get multiple attempts. An optimal playthrough of the game is very hard, requiring a guide or lots of attempts. A fun but okay playthrough is pretty easy.

I was a little torn on this game. I love Christmas and it was fun seeing a sincere appreciation of it, especially through a new lens. On the other hand, part of my love for Open Sorcery is for the sense of growth and development and newness, and progression, and this game had less of that. It's like the difference between Season 1 of a show and season 4 or 5 where they're really established.

I did love the gnomes in this, very fun. And the emphasis on us learning how to give gifts. For its small price, I'd definitely say it's worth it; while it's not as fun to me as the original, it is still more fun that most games.

Open Sorcery feels like the last thing on earth you could possibly spin into a Christmas-themed story, yet here it is. And it works. A direct continuation from the original, JINGLE BEL/S is not just a brilliantly clever title (BEL/S is the protagonist of both games), it also delivers a new type of puzzle (finding and giving the right gifts to the right recipients) and further character development, all in a DLC as big as the original game was.